Renascent Rants: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly…

 

     Maybe I should start by compiling my first official rant. I mean a lot of bloggers do it, so I figured I’d join the bunch since so much goes on in the world on a weekly basses that really catches my attention, whether it be positive or negative; little or big. So here goes nothing…      

The Good:

      For starters, I am extremely elated and content that Usain “Lightning” Bolt has won the 2008 Beijing Olympic Men’s 100 Meter Final with a New World Record Time of 9.69 seconds winning Jamaica it’s first Olympic Men’s 100 meter Gold Medal. Usain is an outstanding athlete and is a great inspiration to all sprinter alike. Whilst Bolt took the Gold Medal, Richard Thompson of Trinidad took the Silver Medal, and Walter Dix of the United States took the Bronze. Check out some pictures and a short “Unofficial” Video clip with more specific details below… 

Alan Abrahamson of NBC writes, “In the most outrageous display of speed to ever burn across the Olympic Games, Usain Bolt of Jamaica rocketed to gold in winning the men’s 100m dash in 9.69 seconds — not only a new world record but the first time in the history of human beings a man has run the distance under 9.7 seconds without a significant tailwind. 

Incredibly, Bolt, 21, could have gone faster. With a full seven strides to go, he dropped his arms and let them fall outstretched to his sides, appearing almost to run sideways as he played to the sold-out crowd of 91,000 at the Bird’s Nest.

Just before the finish line, he started high-stepping and, for good measure, executed a chest-thump. All that, and still — 9.69 seconds. Bolt simply ran away from the rest of the best of the world.“

      With Usain Bolt making history on the men’s side, the Jamaican women also made history as little-known Shelly-Ann Fraser won the 2008 Olympic Women’s 100 Meter Final running a 10.78, and was followed up by her fellow country mates Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart, who both finished in 10.98 and both collected silvers medals giving Jamaica the first sweep of medals in a women’s 100 by any nation at any Olympics or world championships.

“I was speechless yesterday for a while. Today I cried,” Jamaica’s minister of sport, Olivia Grange, said Sunday, after watching Fraser win. “Little Jamaica – our country is blessed with some of the best, if not the best, talent you can find.”

These outstanding and impressive displays of hard-work pose, determination, and athleticism gave Jamaica the first sweep of men’s and women’s 100 golds at any Olympics since 1988.

AP Sports writer Howard Fendrich reports that The United States protested the results in the women’s 100, asking that the race be reviewed because of a possible false start by American Torri Edwards – who wound up last. The appeal was swiftly rejected, and the biggest consequence was that the Jamaican women would have to wait until Monday to receive their medals at a postponed ceremony.

“Not that a ruling for the U.S. would have made much of a difference. The Jamaicans, particularly Fraser, were so much better that it’s hard to imagine the outcome being much different if the race were run again.” – Howard Fendrich

More Good…

      Secondly, over the past week I have seen numerous advertisements for some of televisions hottest and most intriguing shows (many of which happen to be my personal favorites) previewing their new up and coming seasons scheduled for this Fall and early 2009, and I am glad to say that I am very excited and can’t wait to see what’s in store. These are some of the shows that most certainly make television worth watching regularly in our day and age: LOST, House, Heroes, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, 24, The Office, etc.

      I am particularly a big fan of the shows LOST, House M.D. and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and am slowly growing into a big fan of Heroes, and The Office, and not much of a big fan of 24 (though it is a great series). The only down side it that I  as well as other fans have to wait until January 2009 for the new season of LOST (which is my favorite), but will soon have some of my television show cravings filled by the new seasons of House M.D. and Heroes this September, and am currently satisfied and kept at bay with the current season of CSI (Season 7) which is definitely another great season thus far.

       With a whole new line up of seasons launching this coming Fall and in Early 2009, two brand new television shows will be introduced to the mix; NBC’s Crusoe and Fox’s Fringe. Both show previews really caught my attention and interests and I’m looking forward to seeing these two new shows and what they are all about; as they both look pretty interesting and seem to have fairly compelling story lines and structures and also seem to bring something new to the table.

Hopefully they live up to the high expectations and provide good quality viewing pleasures and add to the mix of great television shows. Check out the preview trailers for the new up and coming shows Fringe and Crusoe below…

FRINGE

When an unlikely trio uncovers a deadly mystery involving a series of unbelievable events, they discover it may be part of a larger, disturbing pattern that blurs the line between science fiction and technology on FRINGE.

CRUSOE

Crusoe follows the novel and it’s treasured tale of adventure; this high-action, fast-paced, thirteen part series will combine for the first time the pace and energy of network television while remaining faithful to the authur’s original classic story.

The Bad:

I am extremely disappointed with NBC’s Olympic Coverage. They have in my mind without question displayed some of the most biased, selfish, and unfair broadcasts and coverage of the Olympics time and times again. For one thing, they act as if there aren’t other athletes and countries participating in the Olympics other than Americans. Yes, it is important and necessary that a country high light and focus on it’s own athletes and representatives, but it is also important to take given time to high light the accomplishments of other athletes and countries.

      The United States embodies a very braggadocio approach in almost every situation and in common fashion regularly down plays other country’s athletes and put their own athletes on a towering pedestal of supreme greatness. Yes, Michael Phelps is indeed an outstanding and great athlete and has performed the unthinkable on countless occasions, but there are numerous other athletes who have waited their entire lives to perform on the Olympic stage and deserve their rightful moment of fame and glory. It seem like every single time I turn on the television or log onto the net I am bombarded with Michael Phelps Media. Michael Phelps this, Michael Phelps that, Michael Phelps here, Michael Phelps there…It’s as if NBC and the media are trying to permanently brand Michael Phelps into the minds of viewers and have them only remember him and his accomplishments and no one elses……It is all honestly really starting to get extremely annoying and redundant (I bet even Michael Phelps himself is tired of all the hype and would like some breathing space).

      Secondly, the 2008 Olympic Games are taking place in Beijing, China which is 1 days times ahead of the United States, which then means that almost all of the Olympic Coverage we see on NBC (who owns the Olympic Broadcasting Rights) has already taken place, been recorded and then re-broadcasted here in the United States. So NBC purposely decides to show us what they want when they want and I find this to be highly unfair and inappropriate. How is it that NBC will have Live Coverage of a Swimming race that lasts 15 minutes long, but not show (at a respectable time of day) recorded Track & Field Events that last only a mer 10 seconds each…??? I waited all day to watch the Men’s 100 Meter Heats and Final, and along that wait I must have seen Michael Phelps at least 50 times both in broadcasts and commercials…I sat through entire medal ceremonies of Bronze Medal American Athletes (particularly swimming), saw cameras focused sharply on American Athletes who didn’t even win their events placing in third, fourth, fifth and below, or even qualify for final events (cough, Tyson Gay…) etc, etc. But couldn’t catch one glimpse of the Medal Ceremony for the World’s Fastest Man Usian Bolt, or many other events where the Unites States did not win. But NBC and a host of fans, athletes, representatives and supporters don’t see anything wrong with this…………..Who knows………Maybe it’s just me…………….

The Ugly:

      Some things just never change and it seems like the “Pants Hanging Below Butt” trend will never remove itself from our society. It is totally disgusting to see males of all ages and races walk around with their pants hanging below their butts in a bold fashion statement supposedly said to be considered as “cool”……(Shaking my head) It is really a sickening sight and very disappointing. 

      However, authorities (particularly those of Flint, Michigan, and places in Atlanta and New Jersey, etc.) have also been growing tired of this ridiculous disease like trend and have set new laws into place in hopes of cracking down upon and putting an end to sagging pants.

From: The Fashion eZine

TRENTON, N.J. – It’s a fashion that started in prison, and now the saggy pants craze has come full circle – low-slung street strutting in some cities may soon mean run-ins with the law, including a stint in jail.

Proposals to ban saggy pants are starting to ride up in several places. At the extreme end, wearing pants low enough to show boxers or bare buttocks in one small Louisiana town means six months in jail and a $500 (U.S.) fine. A crackdown also is being pushed in Atlanta. And in Trenton, N.J., getting caught with your pants down may soon result in not only a fine, but a city worker assessing where your life is headed.

“Are they employed? Do they have a high school diploma? It’s a wonderful way to redirect at that point,” said Trenton Councillor Annette Lartigue, who is drafting a law to outlaw saggy pants. “The message is clear: We don’t want to see your backside.”

The bare-your-britches fashion is believed to have started in prisons, where inmates aren’t given belts with their baggy uniform pants to prevent hangings and beatings. By the late 1980s, the trend had made it to gangster rap videos, then went on to skateboarders in the suburbs and high school hallways.

“For young people, it’s a form of rebellion and identity,” Adrian “Easy A.D.” Harris, 43, a member of the Bronx’s legendary rap group Cold Crush Brothers. “The young people think it’s fashionable. They don’t think it’s negative.”

But those who want to stop them see it as an indecent, sloppy trend that is a bad influence on children.

“It has the potential to catch on with elementary school kids,” said C.T. Martin, an Atlanta councillor. “Teachers have raised questions about what a distraction it is.”

In Atlanta, a law has been introduced to ban sagging and punishment could include small fines or community work – but no jail time, Martin said.

The penalty is stiffer in Delcambre, La., where in June the town council passed an ordinance that carries a fine of up to $500 or six months in jail for exposing underwear in public. Several other municipalities and parish governments in Louisiana have enacted similar laws in recent months.

At Trenton hip-hop clothing store Razor Sharp Clothing Shop 4 Ballers, shopper Mark Wise, 30, said his jeans sag for practical reasons.

“The reason I don’t wear tight pants is because it’s easier to get money out of my pocket this way,” Wise said. “It’s just more comfortable.”

Shop owner Mack Murray said Trenton’s proposed ordinance unfairly targets blacks.

“Are they going to go after construction workers and plumbers, because their pants sag, too?” Murray asked. “They’re stereotyping us.”

The American Civil Liberties Union agrees.

“In Atlanta, we see this as racial profiling,” said Benetta Standly of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia. “It’s going to target African-American male youths. There’s a fear with people associating the way you dress with crimes being committed.” (The Fashion Ezine)

 

Ben Schmitt, Free Press Staff Writer says, “Flint Police Chief David Dicks has said he will not back down from his policy of filing disorderly conduct or indecent exposure charges against those whose saggy pants allow too much underwear or their bottoms to show on city streets (see diagram, above).”

 

 

“It took Pleasure to make me and Pain to give birth to me…” - Kev

Mumia Abu-Jamal, Oppression & the State of Black America…

 

     Maybe I should start with an intriguing 3 subject post that deals with multi-threaded and interwoven topics of high concern and importance… 

     Mumia Abu-Jamal is one of the numerous African American men who have been put on death row; and not only put on death row, but put on death row unjustly due to a racist and oppressive justice system. This justice system has resulted in black men making up 40 percent of the nations prisoners whilst only making up 13 percent of the nations population. This is one of those many moments where the race card needs to be pulled from the deck and played in every hand. Mumia is a skilled award-winning Pennsylvania journalist and activist who exposed police violence against minorities and government fraud and secrecy; such as covertly tapping into the phone lines and computers of Americans. Mumia wrote many articles and produced commentary on these issues along with many others, and with the government’s secrets out, Mumia became a threat to the ‘national security’ of a quasi-democracy run on fear, white privilege, and political advantage. The Constitution is a minor obstruction that can be ignored in times of danger (Mumia).

The United States government has waved the wand of national security countless times such as in the fabricating of information about Iraq attempting to purchase uranium from Niger to construct nuclear weapons. At this stage it has been proven that this was most certainly false and that the Bush administration (run by Cheney and Rove) was only concerned with acting as an outside force in the Middle East and Southwestern Asia in order to secure western access to oil within that region. So to cover this up, the government simply made false claims then covered it with the veil of national security. Congress has passed many laws to make what is illegal, legal for the government to carry out and people like Mumia have been aware of this and made it their duty to spread the  word. An intelligent black man has always been seen as a threat, therefore Mumia had to be taken out of the picture.

Mumia has been on death row since 1982 as he was wrongfully arrested and sentenced for the shooting of a police officer. Information surrounding Mumia’s case (accessible via freemumia.org) shows that there has been new evidence, including the recantation of a key eyewitness, new ballistic and forensic evidence and a confession from Arnold Beverly (one of the two killers of Officer Faulkner) which point to Mumia’s innocence; yet for the last 25 years Mumia has been locked up 23 hours a day, denied contact visits with his family, had his confidential legal mail illegally opened by prison authorities, and put into punitive detention for writing his first of three books while in prison, Live From Death Row (Freemumia.org). Any moral being should be able to take one look at this situation and clearly see that something is wrong. But in this day and age you can no longer tap people on the shoulder to raise awareness, you have to hit them over the head with a sledgehammer; and sometimes they still won’t even get it.

The lives of blacks are repeatedly cut short before even being allowed to develop and grow into fruition as more people of color live in prison cells than in college dorms. “It’s one of the great social and economic tragedies of our time,” said Marc Morial, president and CEO of the Urban League. “It points to the signature failure in our education system and how we’ve been raising our children.” (Ohlemacher). The oppression of blacks has been a never-ending story and the fight to win back our communities and liberation is one fought with great compassion and stamped with legendary regard. However, we still have a lot of work cut out for us and must continue to move forward, as today’s African American community is in a very sad state. We are bombarded on a daily basis with news coverage of gang violence, drugs, and blacks being incarcerated. All who live in the communities that are prone to house these issues can see the effects that drugs and violence have on our people.

Rap and Hip-Hop music has given Black men a voice that is heard all over the world, but for the most part it has not been used positively to help liberate and educate fellow blacks (but has been used to do so on occasion). However, it has negatively herded blacks into solely relying on the life within street culture to make a living, which is shown in William Oliver’s article The Streets. Producing rap is an art and freedom of speech does not mean being free to degrade black people. Blacks have used rap music for “Glorifying violence and drugs, placing money and material things above all others, and worst of all, depicting our beautiful Black sisters in the ugliest and most disrespectful manner”, stated congressman Bobby Rush in his speech at the Simeon Career Academy.

“Black females are your mothers, your sisters, your best friends, and your futures. Do not let anyone tell you that they are hoe’s, they are objects, that they are not worthy of anything other than your utmost love and respect. Black women are the foundation of our communities……take it upon yourself, from this moment on to stand up for them, fight for them, be their protectors. The easiest way for anybody to come in and tear our communities apart is if we, as men, fail to defend our women- our mothers and our sisters. If a white man came and said the things about our Black women that some of these rappers are saying, we would consider it an act of war against us.” – Bobby Rush

One could now pose the question of why it is that we allow this to happen rather than taking the stance of being responsible for holding each other accountable for our words and our actions. Never will anyone come in to save black communities (and we should not expect them to) if we do not take it upon ourselves to help ourselves. It is naïve and ridiculous to sit around waiting and expect the government to come in and clean things up (even though they should take action); instead, we must take the stand in working to better our situations, and restore respect and dignity to our communities.

Whites have looked down upon blacks since long before the founding of this nation, so we cannot expect the future to look much different if we do not do anything about it. There has been an unfortunate declining significance of race, which is due to the gaps in class amongst black people. “People make the claim that there is no black community and that the black middle class do not identify with blacks, but with being American” – Dr. Anthony Montero. You never hear the argument that whiteness ceases to exist but instead increases. For white America being black is a crime and is led to the solution of becoming as white as possible in your black body (Montero). This goes hand in hand with the notion of whiteness as discussed in Lucius T. Outlaw Jr.’s article, Rehabilitate Racial Whiteness and also with the notion of how white people claim ‘not to see race’; which is simply denying someone their ethnicity and denying something important about that person. To eradicate these issues blacks must help themselves, and must get involved, starting from the individual level and continuing all the way up through the family, the church, the school, and community organizations (Rush).

With blacks having to start from the bottom there has been a great amount of poverty within the black community. This leaves most of the nations wealth and money in the hands of educated whites that want nothing more than to keep their wealth and keep the gap between the rich and the poor as large as possible. Information collected by Nader.org shows that the poorest fifth of American homes earn around 3.7 of the nations wealth whilst the richest fifth earns 83 percent of the nations wealth. The top fifth of households own more than 83 percent of the nation’s wealth, while the bottom 80 percent less than 17 percent. The top 1 percent owns over 38 percent of the nation’s wealth, more than double the amount of wealth controlled by the bottom 80 percent. The top 1 percent’s financial wealth is equal to that of the bottom 95 percent (Nader). Black people have socially and economically been in the bottom fifth percent. As of 2005, unemployment rates amongst Blacks were 9.7%, compared to 4.2% for the country as a whole and the annual median income in 2003 was $30,000 for Blacks, while whites made $44,000, over $14,000 more per household (Rush). If steps toward maneuvering through this white supremacist capitalist system are not taken things will continue to stay that way and have the potential to get even worse

Discriminatory practices such as municipal redlining, mortgage steering, and denying mortgage credit to blacks has left black people inexplicably without homes, stated Congressman Rush. He pointed out that only 48.5% of Blacks own homes, compared to 70.5% of whites among households with moderate incomes and blacks are more likely to be unemployed, make less when they are employed, and are still denied loans to buy homes at a rate far lower than that provided to whites, even when they are qualified. This is all a direct result of white privilege; which allows all whites, no matter their social class, an opportunity to move up in class while blacks are stifled and kept socially immobile.

Strategies for black liberation must start in the area where there is a large inequality between African Americans and others, which is the field of education. In this area blacks have fallen far behind whites, and have even begun losing ground nationwide to Hispanics and other minorities on standardized test scores in both reading and math. But today’s black youth will in a heart beat go out of their way to attend Howard University’s homecoming, recite words to the hottest songs and be aware of all the latest fashions whilst not being aware of any social, economical of political current events or having a strong concern with achieving an appropriate education. It is sad to see that while 80% of African Americans attained high school diplomas, only 17% have a bachelor degree, and only 1% of Blacks have an advanced degree. This problem is in many ways in our control as we must make a greater effort to stress to our children the importance and value of education.

The Black Community is a long ways off from being obsolete yet far from being adequate and all of these statistics and issues formulate a very depressing picture of the black community, but hope must never be lost. Pain and suffering have always been the headline of our history in this country but we have time and time again overcome the obstacles set before for us. The problems we face are real and blacks must shake of the comfort of fantasy and deal with reality. We must stand strong and be thoughtful, meticulous, and relentless as we strive for liberation and work together for our common good and have everyone fulfill their goal. It is our duty to continue the legend of our ancestors and control our own destiny. That means, individually and collectively, we must take it upon ourselves to make a difference in our homes and our community by taking on the mind-set of Socratic thinking; as addressed by Dr. Cornell West; and striving for ideological and moral clarity. 

“It took Pleasure to make me & Pain to give birth to me...” – Kev